A clip of Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix having an awkward conversation at the premiere of Joker: Folie A Deux during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Italy, has gone viral with more than 5 million views on X, after its upload this Monday (October 7).
The video, which claims to be an accurate lip-reading of an exchange between the actors after the film’s showing on September 4, 2024, left fans feeling pity for Phoenix. According to the subtitles, the lead actor was disappointed and angry at the production.
“It’s horrible!” Phoenix supposedly said to Gaga, who tries to reassure him that it’s not before he reiterates. “I do think so.”
“What? What are you talking about?” she asked and while Joaquin’s lips are not easily visible, the singer’s are and appear to coincide with the video’s interpretation.
A conversation between Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix at Joker: Folie A Deux’s premiere has been “lip-read” by fans who claim the actor said that he “hated” the film to his co-star
The two then seemingly get into a short argument as Phoenix supposedly states that the ending “could’ve been different,” an idea that Gaga rejects, stating that she loved it.
“Oh you did? Yikes,” the actor said, finishing the exchange with an annoyed look on his face, while turning to receive the congratulations of other members of the audience.
“If in fact this was the real conversation then I do feel really bad for Joaquin and Gaga. She tried to cheer him up but both know what Todd did,” the post’s author stated, who also went on to speculate about Warner Brothers and director Todd Phillips blindsiding the actor with a different final cut of the film.
The clip’s reception was mixed with some viewers doubting the veracity of Joaquin’s words, and others pointing out how Lady Gaga’s lips and the overall body language of Phoenix seem to indicate a disagreement between the two.
The film “bombed” both commercially and critically, earning far less than the first film being panned by reviewers and the audience
Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux stumbled at the box office after its release last Friday (October 4), opening with just $37.8 million domestically, far below pre-release expectations of $50 million.
If in fact this was the real conversation then I do feel really bad for Joaquin and Gaga. She tried to cheer him up but both know what Todd did.pic.twitter.com/83IkC4rLzJ
— ᖶᕼᘿ ᑢᕼᖇᓍᘻᗩᖶᓰᑢᗩᘉᓍ feat. The Monkey Gang (@Chromaticano2) October 7, 2024
The estimates were already conservative considering the massive success of the first Joker, which shattered box office records in 2019, with a $96.2 million opening domestically.
Critical reception has also been harsh, scoring an aggregate score of 33% among reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 31% among the audience. This is in stark contrast to the first movie, which, while scoring 68% among critics, was able to garner a very positive 89% with audiences.
While professional reviewers praised the film for its originality, most deemed it an “unnecessary and pointless” sequel. Audiences, on the other hand, felt the movie was an attempt at undoing the praise the first one got, and acts as a character regression for Arthur Fleck, Joaquin’s character in both films.
